Oct. 16, 2008

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville's varsity eight rowing crew will be in Boston for Sunday's prestigious Head of the Charles Regatta, while the rest of the Cards will be in Bloomington, Ind., on Saturday to take on the Indiana Hoosiers.

The Cards' varsity eight crew for the Head of the Charles will feature junior Ashley Edwardson (coxswain), sophomore Anastasia Prokopenko (stroke), sophomore Kristin Falovo (7), senior Mallory Hamman (6), sophomore Sam Kayser (5), senior Lisa Grace (4), senior Sha'Lori Moore (3), junior Katie Rorer (2) and senior Allison Pelette (1).

"I'm very proud of the effort and focus the ladies have poured into practice over the last several weeks and we're looking forward to seeing how their speed stacks up against some of the best crews in the country," said second-year Cards' head coach Laura Fogt. "It's our job to bring our competition our absolute best and I have no question they will put together a solid race.

The team will have their only pre-race row over the Charles River on Friday afternoon, and the Cards are set to compete across the 3-mile course on Sunday at 4:23 p.m. ET. At last year's Head of the Charles, the Cards earned an impressive ninth-place finish out of 39 crews, while this year's marks the 10th-straight year U of L has traveled to Boston for the world's largest two-day rowing event.

"The ladies raced a phenomenal race last year and Ashley (the coxswain) did a great job maneuvering the boat down the course in the safest, fastest way possible, especially considering that we started last out of 39 crews," Fogt said. "This is a special race for all rowers, and it's great to have four seniors represented in the boat. They are a great group of ladies and have been great leaders for the program from day one.

"Head racing is an exciting race because you don't know who won the event until the very last boat has crossed the finish line. With 39 crews in our event last year and Louisville being the last boat to go through the starting line, the race wasn't over until we crossed the finish line. We could not have been more thrilled to see that we had earned a Top 10 finish and we are even more excited to go back and see if we can make it happen again."

In Saturday's action on Lake Lemon in Bloomington, the Cards will have their second varsity eight, third varsity eight, novice eight and novice four crews. Louisville and Indiana will do one head race of approximately 5,000 meters in distance at approximately 10:30 a.m. ET, followed by a few side-by-side pieces of 3-4 minutes with capped ratings.

"Indiana always shows great speed and it will be a great opportunity to get next to a fast crew as we prepare for the Head of the Hooch in two weeks," Fogt said. "Both varsity boats have seen positive growth over the last few weeks as we have worked extensively on technique and staying consistent, while also building our fitness. This weekend, they will have the opportunity to see the fruits of their labor in a great competitive environment.

"This weekend will also be the very first race down the race course for our novice crews. Over the past several weeks, they have learned how to carry a boat, how to get in a boat and how to make a boat move. Now, they get to see how fast they can make that boat go. Coach (Andrea) Buch is extremely excited about this group of ladies and says they have show great fitness and focus, especially being so new to the sport. There's no question it will be a great experience for all of them."

Following this weekend's events, the Cards will have a week off from competition before closing the fall racing season on Nov. 1 at the Head of the Hooch in Chattanooga, Tenn.